ABSTRACT
Cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled proliferation and growth of tumor cells. This leads to formation of solid tumors containing cancerous cells residing in a complex extracellular matrix (ECM), which indeed has a profound role in cellular behavior. Thousands of chemotherapeutic compounds are under exploration for their potential in conventional in vitro 2D cell culture models. However, due to lack of an extracellular matrix, cancer cell behavior has been altered and, consequently, it is difficult to predict bioavailability and drug efficacy. To overcome this, varieties of three-dimensional cell culture methods have been used in vitro that resemble ECM properties and allow tumor cells to inhabit 3D distributions like in vivo conditions. This progress report summarizes the understanding of the biochemical and biomechanical properties of native tumor ECMs that influence cellular behavior, an inspiration for developing 3D tumor models. This understanding encouraged innovative approaches of mimicking the properties of ECM owing to biomaterials and will be discussed in depth. Success in recreating 3D tumors on scaffolds has been explored for drug screening, and its concurrent view has been deliberated in detail.
